X CEO Linda Yaccarino steps down

X CEO and Elon Musk collaborator Linda Yaccarino is officially leaving her top seat at the social media company.

Yaccarino declared that she would be stepping down as CEO in an X post, writing:

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…When @elonmusk and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to carry out the extraordinary mission of this company. I’m immensely grateful to him for entrusting me with the responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around, and transforming X into the Everything App.

I’m incredibly proud of the X team – the historic business turn around we have accomplished together has been nothing short of remarkable.  We started with the critical early work necessary to prioritize the safety of our users—especially children, and to restore advertiser confidence. This team has worked relentlessly from groundbreaking innovations like Community Notes, and, soon, X Money to bringing the most iconic voices and content to the platform. Now, the best is yet to come as X enters a new chapter with @xai.

X is truly a digital town square for all voices and the world’s most powerful culture signal. We couldn’t have achieved that without the support of our users, business partners, and the most innovative team in the world….

While Yaccarino didn’t say her reasons for leaving, sources familiar with the matter told NBC that the move had been in the works for weeks. Over the course of her tenure, Musk has become embroiled in political and platform controversy, including a recent “antisemitic tirade” by xAI’s integrated chatbot Grok. On July 5, following a public fallout with President Donald Trump after acting as the de-facto government leader of the “Department of Government Efficiency,” Musk announced he was forming a new political party as a pro-tech alternative to the current political establishment.

Yaccarino joined the company in 2023 after leading advertising at NBCUniversal, with Musk describing her new role as overseeing business operations while he focused his energy on “product design and new technology.” Yaccarino has since become the company’s go-to talking head for its ongoing battles with third-party advertising and content moderation, including the platform’s continued investment in community-generated fact-checking.